Snowflakes
by Yukitarina
Summary: "Do you mind visiting Dégel's grave, Sensei?"


_**A/N: Hello there :) I hope the next chapter of Bonne Nuit can be submitted next week. This fic is dedicated to you, all of the authors and reviewers. Thank you so much, I can never forget you … :)**_

_**Timeline: Before my fic Bonne Nuit**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own SS characters**_

**-00-**

**Snowflakes**

**-00-**

_East Siberia_

At least Hyoga's arrival gave Camus something to think about in the very slow and lazy Siberian atmosphere.

His student got winter holiday and decided to spend it in his hut, yet different with the visits before, Hyoga didn't greet him in cheerful and noisy ways as he always did, nor showering him many mind-boggling stories from Kido's mansion—like, the news about Deathmask exploding the oven or Aiolia brought a lion into his room.

Hyoga's eyes never stopped gazing at the fireplace opposite to him from the time he arrived. Camus, toweling the table, glanced at him, wholly noticing the unusual gesture.

"What are you thinking of?" murmured Camus.

Slowly Hyoga turned his head, responding at Camus's curiosity. He seemed thinking deeply before talking.

"Do you mind visiting Dégel's grave, Sensei?" he suddenly asked.

Camus stopped toweling and frowned his forehead, as if Hyoga's question was a shocking headline news in Siberian newspaper.

"For?" asked the Aquarius.

Hyoga a bit shrugged and turned his eyes on the floor. "Nothing. I just wonder if we can get there."

"Hyoga, Dégel and Seraphina's graves were there in Atlantis," sighed Camus. "Do you expect us to dive there only for the sake of visiting dead people?"

Hyoga didn't answer, only continued looking at the hearth.

The hut was rather silent afterwards; Camus prepared foods, Hyoga ate. Once they finished they read books, though Camus saw that Hyoga didn't really pay attention to his choice: Encyclopedia of Poisonous Plants.

"Good night, Sensei," said Hyoga when it'd been ten o'clock. He returned the books on the shelf and entered his room.

Camus gazed on his student's door.

Minutes later he sighed, whining his inability of neglecting Hyoga's wish sometimes.

Maybe visiting Dégel's grave wasn't really a bad idea?

He never visited Dégel's grave—but as he thought about it he realized it wasn't because of the Atlantis-thing. It was simply because he never thought it was necessary, until Hyoga mentioned it.

He picked up the phone, dialing Kanon's phone. The Gemini yelled in welcoming surprise upon hearing his voice. "What a miracle of life you call me from Siberia."

"Hello, Kanon. Just want to ask you something, if you don't mind."

"Tell me."

Camus gazed outside, focusing on the white landscape and the glaciers.

"Do you know the simplest way of entering Atlantis?"

**-00-**

**-00-**

Bluegaard Castle.

Since two hundred years ago, precisely post Gracia, Seraphina, and Unity's deaths, the castle had been fully neglected. Nobody stayed inside, and as time went by its appearance was more and more resembling the houses in ghost movie. Nobody dared to enter, except Julian Solo and his marines.

Now Camus and Hyoga took turns, thanks to Kanon's suggestion (which was always followed with don't-tell-lord-Julian-he'll-kill-me thing).

"Are you sure there's no banshee here, Sensei?" murmured Hyoga as he and his teacher passed the gloomy great hall smelled of moss, deaths, and loneliness. The Cygnus never stopped holding his teacher's jacket like a son asking for his father's protection.

"If you keep asking those unimportant thing I'll leave you here alo—" Camus didn't finished, for all of a sudden couple of bats flashed and Hyoga yelled, his heart almost fell on the floor.

"Damnit!" he cursed as he held his chest and saw the bats flew away. "Flying like that! Just like an ape!"

Camus sighed, but couldn't help to smile hearing Hyoga's unconscious imitation of Shaka.

They finally arrived at the giant library of Bluegaard, whose books probably almost reached billions, painting the whole walls until reached the extremely-high ceilings. Camus's eyes dimmed—it was too regretful the treasures had been so fragile and served as termites' meals.

"Sensei, look at this," called Hyoga.

Camus turned around and approached him. They stood in front of a wall embossed with the coat of arms of Poseidon's trident.

"You're ready?" Camus asked as he stared at the wall.

Hyoga nodded.

Camus held the coat of arms and mentioned the incantation Kanon had taught him

_Thou art the treasures of mankind_

"That's it?" Hyoga wondered.

Camus gave his rare smile, and the wall was slowly slid aside, exposing the Atlantis's lights.

**-00-**

**-00-**

Time was somehow inexisted here. They don't know how long they'd been wandering in the lost continent, searching for Dégel and Seraphina's graves, but all they met so far were only debris and ruins.

"Do you think Poseidon destroyed their graves?" Hyoga asked quietly.

"I don't think so," murmured Camus, gazing all around. "I can feel something here. _Absolute Zero_. Dégel froze himself with Absolute Zero—his coffin must be around here."

They continued walking, now fully depended on Camus's intuition. The remains of castles, silvers, and treasures scattered everywhere, producing sounds beneath their steps.

"Why you suddenly want to visit Dégel's grave?" asked Camus, echoing in the silence.

Hyoga looked at his teacher for a moment.

"I don't know exactly," he quietly said. "Yesterday Shion and Dohko told me a lot about him. I feel I began to know him a lot after the story. I immediately wanted to visit him and maybe say something to him."

A pause, and Hyoga turned at his teacher again. "And you, Sensei? Why you suddenly agree to come here?"

"I just feel I have to."

Thirty minutes later, they stopped walking.

They arrived in front of both beautiful and heartrending view …

The freezing coffin was standing toughly, three times larger than Hyoga's coffin back then. Inside were the Aquarius saint and a lady wearing Poseidon's cloth.

They faced each other, eyes-closed; Dégel stood lower than Seraphina, his hand touched her cheek. There was no trail of loneliness on their visages: both looked peaceful, serene.

Slowly Hyoga approached the coffin, looked up at them as if they were the treasures of life. He then focused on Dégel, smiled slightly, then clasped his hands to pray.

Five minutes later he opened his eyes and gazed at Dégel again, adoring on how much he resembled his teacher.

"Hello, Dégel-sensei," he greeted. "Hello, Lady Seraphina."

Then he began to talk, from the bottom of his heart. Camus watched from behind, thinking about what he trying to say.

"You surely don't know me.

"My name is Alexei Hyoga, your reincarnation's apprentice …," Hyoga began. "You know Dohko and Shion, don't you?" he smiled. "Surely you know them. They told me a lot about you … about how you can read the stars. Your intelligence that causes you to wear glasses. Your habit of bringing books everywhere even in the Holy War. You're my teacher all over again, you see …

"Maybe I'll tell you a bit about me before I say something I really hope you to hear …

"My constellation is Cygnus, the sign you treasured in your whole life, the one leading you to reach your dream and fulfill your promise. I'm an Aquarius, just the same with you and my teacher. I love reading books, but not such a bookworm … I prefer playing playstation much. Nay, of course there was no playstation in eighteenth century."

Hyoga now gazed on Dégel's warm features.

"Don't you know that your name means 'thaw' or 'de-frost'?" he smiled. "Kind of funny … considering that you're an ice saint."

He was quiet for some moments before taking a deep breath, and smiled warmly.

"I just want to say … thank you, Dégel-sensei …," he said, "… for being alive in the past and struggling to live a better world … Thank you for the books that you left in Aquarius temple … those are the books my sensei admires, those which teach me a lot. Thank you for the dream you tried to achieve … it really inspires me to do the same.

"I hope you'll stay happy wherever you are … Dégel-sensei."

Hyoga took a book from his rucksack and put it on the bottom side of the coffin.

"This is a book I write," he said. "My thorough research about Cygnus constellation, mostly from the facts in twentieth century. Although you cannot read it I will leave it here …"

Camus has stood beside his student and gazed at him proudly in a slight smile. As he held his shoulders Hyoga asked.

"You don't want to say anything?"

Camus turned his head on the coffin, then touched it. "It's colder than mine," he said.

"Of course it is. It's Absolute Zero."

"Yeah."

The Aquarius gazed on his incarnation, felt a lot of emotion he shouldn't sense at the same time: happiness, sadness, regret, hopefulness, hopelessness, remembrance, forgetfulness … So much things he felt that he could only thought and whispered a line.

"Hope everything's alright, Dégel," he quietly said.

"That's it?" asked Hyoga in disbelief.

His teacher looked at him with dim eyes.

"He can't hear us, Hyoga."

"You have no idea."

Afterwards they only stood in front of the coffin, gazing at the calm features. Atlantis had no wind, no atmosphere, no true sunshine. But somehow both Camus and Hyoga could sense coolness in the air, something that felt like snows caressing their skin.

And the sounds of the nymphs singing … with a song about love and longing.

**-00-**

**-00-**

When the night fell Hyoga stood near the window, stared at the falling snows and all white things outside.

He and Camus arrived at the hut at six o'clock and immediately went to their rooms, too exhausting and lazy to pick food for dinner.

"You haven't slept?"

Hyoga glanced at the door hearing the voice, then continued his gaze on the landscape. "I'm not sleepy. Only tired."

Camus entered Hyoga's room and sat on the chair in front of the desk. "Tomorrow I'll go to Greece. I'll leave you the recipe for lunch and dinner."

"'K."

The curtains of snow and billion stars enlightening the deep blue sky, got Hyoga's mind traveling to somewhere else.

Without any specific reason he felt a kind of emptiness, imagining the freezing coffin and the beings inside.

He wondered whether his wish would come true, that Dégel would be happy wherever he was. Could he be happy inside the coffin …? It had been a year and even Hyoga could still feel the sting of the coldness, how he thought that every warmth had left him, how he was dying inside. Could Dégel be happy then …?

Outside, the mists swirling in the air, just like thin clouds swished by the wind.

And Hyoga's eyes widened when he saw someone in the middle of the fogs, sitting on a low glacier with a book on his lap, his long hair was blown softly in the air.

Even in the distance Hyoga could recognize the book: his Cygnus constellation one.

The young man outside finally raised his head and turned to Hyoga.

His eyes shone behind his glasses, and he smiled, with pure happiness and warmth.

_Dégel-sensei_ … whispered Hyoga.

Dégel winked, laughed slightly, showered by snowfalls beneath the stars.

He looked at Hyoga, nodded, as if saying thank you … and couple seconds later the mists slowly enveloped him … and he gradually vanished, left only the showers of diamond dusts in the ambiance.

Despite of his stricken heart Hyoga was still able to open the window, welcomed by the winter breezes.

As he paid out his hand and received a flake of diamond dust … he decided that the vision was there to calm him, that he should be thankful on the appearance …

Whether it was only his imagination or not, he could breath in relief as the faith bloomed in his heart. The faith that Dégel was happy … with a smile and sincere laughter he was so ready to bestow.

Hyoga closed the window, then turned to look at Camus who had fallen asleep with sit position, his pen was still in his hand.

The Cygnus removed the pen, very slowly slipped a pillow beneath Camus's head, and covered him with blanket. He then returned to his bed, looked up to the ceilings, and at last falling asleep with a beam.

_Thank you, Dégel-sensei …_

_For showing us that you're all alright, after all these times …_

**-End-**


End file.
